Briefs: Disney, Wesco, Tix

Walt Disney Co. subsidiary Marvel Studios brought a late summer surge to the box office with a $94 million the opening weekend for “Guardians of the Galaxy.

The space adventure movie with a talking raccoon was the third highest opening weekend for the summer movie season. “Transformers: Age of Extinction” and “Captain America: The Winter Soldier,” also from Marvel Studios, held the first and second spots respectively.

Dave Hollis, executive vice president of theatrical distribution for Walt Disney Studios, told the Los Angeles Times the success of “Guardians” indicated a pent-up moviegoer demand during a summer of lackluster films.

“It was a departure from the traditional superhero fare that had been so successful for Marvel,” Hollis was quoted in the Times. “But the brand has such extraordinary momentum.”

Shares rose $1.86, or more than 2 percent, to $87.24 on the New York Stock Exchange.

The acquisition of a supply-chain management firm boosted sales for Wesco Aircraft Holdings Inc. in the second quarter but the company still fell short of analyst estimates.

The Valencia aerospace supplier reported on Monday net income of $28.8 million (29 cents a share), compared with $27 million (28 cents) in the same period a year earlier. Revenue increased 71 percent to $396 million.

Analysts on average expected net income of 37 cents on revenue of $406 million, according to Thomson Financial Network.

Wesco Chief Executive Randy Snyder acknowledged the results did not meet expectations but noted the company’s performance improved following the $550 acquisition in March of Haas Group Inc., a supply-chain management firm in West Chester, Pa.

“The active collaboration between the legacy Wesco Aircraft and Haas teams continues at a fast pace,” Snyder said in a prepared statement. “We are beginning to see the results of our work and we believe that we will achieve great results from our efforts in the future.”

Shares closed up 7 cents, or a fraction of one percent, to $19.01 on the New York Stock Exchange.

Additional locations of its discount ticket kiosks in Las Vegas contributed to increased second quarter revenue for Tix Corp., the company said Monday.

The Studio City company reported net income of $1.2 million (7 cents a share), compared with $579,000 (2 cents) in the same period a year earlier. Revenue increased 11 percent to $5.7 million.

Tix sells discounted Las Vegas show tickets and dinner reservations from 11 locations, up from nine a year ago. Tix Chief Executive Mitch Francis said adding new locations and enhancing others helped to improve quarterly results.

“I believe we are well positioned to deliver strong financial performance throughout the remainder of 2014,” said Francis, in a prepared statement.

Shares closed up 4 cents, or 3.5 percent, to $1.18 in over-the-counter trading.